Cooling fan assembly

ABSTRACT

A cooling fan assembly includes a fan with a frame, two fixing members arranged at two opposite lateral sides of the frame, and a plurality of fixing poles detachably interconnecting the frame with the base portions of the two fixing members. The two fixing members each include a base portion and a handling portion extending from a top of the base portion. The handling portions extend upwardly and inclined toward each other along a direction away from the base portions. One end of the fixing pole penetrates through and is fixed on the frame, and the other end of the fixing pole is gripped by the base portion.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to fan assemblies, andparticularly to a fan assembly with a convenient mechanism forassembling and disassembling.

2. Description of Related Art

During operation of electronic devices such as computer centralprocessing units (CPUs), north bridges and south bridges, a large amountof heat is often produced. The heat must be quickly removed from theelectronic devices to prevent them from over heating and being damaged.Typically, a heat sink is attached to an outer surface of the electronicdevice to absorb the heat from the CPU, and a cooling fan assembly isfixed on the heat sink by bolts for generating an airflow to bring theheat of the heat sink away. However, the employment of bolts undesirablymakes the assembling and disassembling of the cooling fan complex andtime-consuming.

Therefore, what is needed is to provide a cooling fan assembly toovercome above shortcomings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawing. The components in the drawing are notnecessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed uponclearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a cooling fan assembly in accordance witha first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the cooling fan assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic, enlarged view of a fixing member of the coolingfan assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the fixing member of FIG. 3, viewed fromanother aspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the drawing to describe the presentcooling fan assembly, in detail.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a cooling fan assembly 100 according toa first embodiment includes a fan 10, two fixing members 20 and aplurality of fixing poles 30.

The fan 10 includes a frame 11 and an impeller 12 arranged inside theframe 11. The frame 11 includes a first flange 111, a second flange 112opposite to the first flange 111, and a tubular sidewall 113interconnected between the first flange 111 and the second flange 112.In other words, the first flange 111 extends outwardly from one end ofthe tubular sidewall 113, and the second flange 112 extends outwardlyfrom the other end of the tubular sidewall 113. The first flange 111 andthe second flange 112 respectively extending in a radial plane of thetubular sidewall 113. The first flange 111 and the second flange 112each has a rectangular peripheral contour. Each corner of the firstflange 111 and the second flange 112 defines a through hole 114 therein.Further, four flat platforms 115 are defined on outer surface of thetubular sidewall 113. The flat platforms 115 are flushed with peripheraledges of the first and second flanges 111, 112.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the two fixing members 20 are arrangedat two opposite lateral sides of the frame 11. The two fixing members 20are opposite to each other, and each include a base portion 21 and ahandling portion 22.

The base portion 21 includes an attaching plate 211 and two hems 212extending from two opposite sides of the attaching plate 211. Theattaching plate 211 is approximately flat, and attached to the flatplatforms 115 and the peripheral edges of the first and second flanges111, 112. The two hems 212 respectively extend along a directionperpendicular to the attaching plate 211. When the fan 10 is arrangedbetween the two opposite attaching plates 211, the two hems 212respectively being attached to the first and second flanges 111, 112.Accordingly, the two hems 212 sandwich the first and second flanges 111,112 therebetween. Each hem 212 defines a plurality of receiving recesses213 on an outer surface thereof. The locations of the receiving recesses213 are corresponding to that of the through holes 114, when the fan 10is arranged between the two opposite attaching plates 211. Eachreceiving recess 213 depresses towards the first and second flanges 111,112 of the frame 11. Each receiving recess 213 further defining a cutout214 at a bottom thereof for griping the fixing pole 30.

The two handling portions 22 each extend from a top of a correspondingbase portion 21. The two handling portions 22 extend upwardly andinclined toward each other along a direction away from the base portions21. Each handling portion 22 includes a curved part 221 adjoined to thebase portion 21, and a vertical part 222 bending from an upper edge ofthe curved part 221. The curved part 221 is a curved plate with anopening 223 defined therein.

The plurality of fixing poles 30 detachably interconnect the frame 11with the base portions 21 of the two fixing members 20. Each fixing pole30 includes a head 31, a tail 33, and a shaft 32 interconnecting thehead 31 with the tail 33.

The head 31 is approximately a round board with a thickness equal to orslightly smaller than a depth of the receiving recess 213.

The shaft 32 is a cylinder with a radius smaller than that of the head31 and the through hole 114. Near to a joint of the head 31 and theshaft 32, a slot 321 is defined on the shaft 32. The slot 321 has awidth equal to or slightly smaller than a thickness of the bottom of thereceiving recess 213.

The tail 33 is approximately a cone with a big end adjoined with theshaft 32. The big end of the tail 33 has a size bigger than the shaft 32and the through hole 114. In this embodiment, the tail 33 includes aconic body 331 with a big end connected to the shaft 32, and an end body332 extending from a small end of the conic body 331. The big end of theconic body 331 has a size bigger than the shaft 32 and the through hole114. The end body 332 has a size smaller than the through hole 114.

When the fixing pole 30 is operated to penetrate through the throughhole 114 for assembling the fan 10 to the fixing members 20, the head 31is received in the receiving recess 213 and at one side of the throughhole 114, the shaft 32 is received in the through hole 114 with thebottom of the receiving recess 213 embedded in the slot 321, and theconic body 331 will be stuck at another side of the through hole 114.Accordingly, one end of the fixing pole 30 penetrates through and isfixed on the frame 11, and the other end of the fixing pole 30 (i.e. thejoint of the head 31 and the shaft 32) is gripped by the base portion 21(i.e. by the cutout 214). In such cooperation, the fan 10 is assembledand fixed to the two fixing members 20, via the plurality of fixingpoles 30.

When disassembling the fan 10 from the two fixing members 20, operatorscan grip the handling portions 22 with fingers penetrating through theopening 223, and pull the two base portions 21 laterally away from eachother via the handling portions 22. Accordingly, the head 31 can bepulled out of receiving recess 213, with the bottom of the receivingrecess 213 pulled out of the slot 321. In such way, the two fixingmembers 20 are operated disengaged from the fixing poles 30, and theframe 11 of the fan 10 is diverged from the two fixing members 20,together with the plurality of the fixing poles 30.

It is to be said that, the plurality of fixing poles 30 can be made ofrubber, and a groove can be longitudinally defined on an outer sidesurface of the conic body 331. As such, when the fixing pole 30 isoperated to penetrate through the through hole 114, the end body 332 andthe conic body 331 are forced to successively penetrate through thethrough hole 114, with the groove 333 providing a space for deformationof the conic body 331 when the conic body 331 is extruded by an inneredge of the through hole 114. Finally, after passing through the throughholes 114, the conic body 331 resumes back to its original shape and getstuck by the first flange 111 or the second flange 112.

Due to that the fixing poles 30 fixed in the flanges of the fan 10 canbe gripped or released by the two fixing members 20 without bolts, theassembling and disassembling of the fan 10 is convenient and efficient.Further, when made of rubber, the fixing poles 30 is capable ofabsorbing vibrations generated by the impeller 12, thereby eliminatingor decreasing noises of the fan 10.

It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are intendedto illustrate rather than limit the disclosure. Variations may be madeto the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the disclosureas claimed. The above-described embodiments illustrate the scope of thedisclosure but do not restrict the scope of the disclosure.

1. A cooling fan assembly comprising: a fan with a frame; two fixingmembers arranged at two opposite lateral sides of the frame, the twofixing members each comprising a base portion and a handling portionextending from a top of the base portion, the handling portionsextending upwardly and inclined toward each other along a direction awayfrom the base portions; a plurality of fixing poles detachablyinterconnecting the frame with the base portions of the two fixingmembers, one end of the fixing pole penetrating through and fixed on theframe, the other end of the fixing pole being gripped by the baseportion.
 2. The cooling fan assembly of claim 1, wherein the framecomprises a tubular sidewall, a first flange extending outwardly fromone end of the tubular sidewall, and a second flange extending outwardlyfrom the other end of the tubular sidewall, the first and second flangesrespectively extending in a radial plane of the tubular sidewall, thefirst and second flanges each has a rectangular peripheral contour, andeach corner of the first and second flanges defines a through hole forpenetration of the plurality of fixing poles.
 3. The cooling fanassembly of claim 2, wherein each of the base portions comprises anattaching plate and two hems extending from two opposite sides of theattaching plate, the attaching plate being attached to peripheral edgesof the first and second flanges, the two hems respectively beingattached to the first and second flanges, the two hems sandwiching thefirst and second flanges therebetween.
 4. The cooling fan assembly ofclaim 3, wherein each of the hems defines a plurality of receivingrecesses on an outer surface thereof, each of the receiving recessesdepressing towards the first and second flanges of the frame, each ofthe receiving recess further defining a cutout at a bottom thereof forgriping the fixing pole.
 5. The cooling fan assembly of claim 1, whereineach of the handling portions comprises a curved part adjoined to thebase portion, and a vertical part bending from an upper edge of thecurved part, the curved part defining an opening therein.
 6. The coolingfan assembly of claim 4, wherein each of the fixing poles comprises ahead, a tail and a shaft interconnecting the head with the tail, thetail of the fixing pole penetrating through the through hole and gettingstuck by the flange, the shaft being received in the through hole, ajoint of the head and the shaft being gripped by the cutout, the headbeing received in the receiving recess.
 7. The cooling fan assembly ofclaim 6, wherein the plurality of fixing poles are made of rubber. 8.The cooling fan assembly of claim 6, wherein the head is approximately around board with a thickness equal to or slightly smaller than a depthof the receiving recess.
 9. The cooling fan assembly of claim 8, whereinthe shaft is a cylinder with a radius smaller than that of the head andthe through hole.
 10. The cooling fan assembly of claim 6, wherein thetail is approximately a cone with a big end adjoined with the shaft, thebig end of the tail having a size bigger than the shaft and the throughhole.